Insomnia
by Youkomon
Summary: One stormy night during the second season. And Chiro is finding it differcult to sleep. And Antauri? Well, he's trying to make Chiro...well, sleep...fic focusing on the bond the two of them share


I swear that the SRMTHFG section has the nicest readers…I don't think I've ever had as many reviews so quickly for a one shot as I did for magnetism…um, you guys did know it was a one shot right? As in a single chaptered story? Only asking, cos some reviewers asked me to continue and I kinda liked ending it where it did…(remembers that she didn't say it was a one shot and bashes her head against a random Mary-sue repeatedly)

Anyhow this fic has nothing to do with romance whatsoever. It's merely a…thing that describes the relationship between Antauri and Chiro to a certain extent. I played upon the idea of Chiro's nightmares that appeared regularly in the second season. Unfortunately, I haven't seen the finale of said season because the stupidchannel won't show them…grr…ah, the suffering of those who are stranded in the territory of Europe.

Anyhow, enjoy…I certainly know I had fun writing this as this kind of story was something I've always wanted to do! According to my sister it's fluffy (shrugs). Providing there isn't enough to make cotton candy, I don't think there's gonna be any problems…

* * *

Reflections of light were caught in mere seconds as raindrops descended from the sky, clattering against tin roofs and thudding against walls in the heavy manner a storm brings. The outline of clouds were highlighted against the backdrop of a vast expanse of grey sky in a few vital moments as lightening raced across the sky and thunder grumbled in it's wake. It was a stormy night in Shuggazoom city.

Antauri of course was oblivious to all this. The wise monkey had decided to abandon sleep after feeling twinges of insomnia and had left the rest of his dreaming brethren to take up meditating in a small room. He wasn't quite sure why he had chosen this room in particular, but it had a positive aura floating inside it and was also quite effective in closing off the sound of raging nature. Not that he needed the aid of thick walls to cut himself off from the rest of the world of course, but Antauri was never one to pass up an opportunity. As it was, he hovered into the air, crossing his legs and spreading his arms in a calm manner before closing his eyes and preparing to tune out the rest of the world. He had only just began to drift into a trance before his acute senses picked up the tell-tale creak of an opening door. Sighing, the team's second in command opened one eye just in time to see a familiar whiff of black hair whipping itself back around the door, which was already halfway to being jerked back shut.

"Chiro?" he called in an assertive tone.

The door stopped as the person on the outside seemed to hover between indecision.

"You can come in."

This time there was no question.

The door seemed to sigh a little before it swung open to reveal a young boy clad in rather creased pyjamas and looking a little unsure of himself. He grinned sheepishly.

"You got me."

He looked around the room nervously before seeing Antauri gazing at him pointedly and laughed as he walked into the room, jumping when the door swung shut at a single gesture from Antauri's claw. A silence passed between them.

"What bring you here so early?"

Chiro blinked at the monkey.

"Don't you mean late?"

"It's one minute past twelve Chiro, the part of the morning that I would expect you to be sleeping", Antauri told him gently.

The boy fidgeted at the soft spoken tone, staring down at the floor as he did so.

"I couldn't sleep…" he explained, momentarily letting a startled yelp escape him as a loud roll of thunder crashed overhead. He leapt up suddenly, bashing his head against the ceiling light as he did so. The bulb immediately crumpled under the sudden pressure and gave out. There was another silence for a moment or two before Antauri's voice came floating over the darkness.

"I see."

And he did.

Chiro stood still, feeling rather flustered before flinching a little as his face was thrust under the glare of a haunting green light. Blinking furiously to adjust, his eyes widened as he realised the light belonged to Antauri's claw that was glowing barely a hair's berth away from his head. The owner of the limb was floating directly opposite him at head level, his eyes fixed on Chiro intently.

The boy grinned.

"This isn't another of your 'seeing without looking' is it?" he asked, unable to disguise the cheeky lilt in his voice.

A wry grin crossed over the monkey's face.

"No, it's called 'gut feeling'" he replied, still retaining a sense of seriousness in the face of Chiro's humour.

"What's your gut saying then?"

"It's telling me that you're scared"

"What? No!"

He faltered under the black monkey's stare.

"Don't lie to me Chiro."

"I'm not lying exactly, I'm just being evasive!"

Antauri's solemn look didn't falter.

Chiro began to look exasperated.

"Look," he said huffily, "I'm not quite sure what you want from me, so I'm going to bed…again…"

Antauri waited until the boy's fingertips brushed against the door.

"And how are you going to sleep?"

The hand swept itself off the smooth surface of the door and rounded itself into an angered fist.

"I'll find a way!" ground out Chiro from between gritted teeth.

Antauri tilted his head to one side in a slightly-but-not-quite-amused fashion.

"We have a busy practise session tomorrow to test our progress when it comes to defensive manoeuvres. You'll find it rather taxing if you fail to receive any sleep tonight."

The male human waved it off, shrugging in a careless movement.

"Big deal, it sounds just like every other practise session we do everyday!"

Antauri gave a half smile with one corner remaining as a twisted world-weary grimace.

"Gibson and Otto spent a long time devising this one which means it will prove to be quite challenging, given the effort they always put into their work. I also believe Nova had a hand in the attacking mechanisms which means you stand to receive quite a pounding if your reflexes are slower than usual…"

The monkey stopped to fix Chiro with a grave look.

"…as a result of sleep deprivation."

The boy rolled his eyes as he held up his hands in mock surrender.

"Okay, okay, jeez I get the message!"

He paused suddenly, blinking, as his forehead wrinkled up into a frown.

"…let me get this straight, you won't let me go to bed, but you still want me to go to sleep?"

The levitating monkey inclined his head in affirmation.

"I suppose you're going to do that whole 'facing your fears' thing with me", sighed Chiro, staring down at the floor gloomily before whisking his head upwards to give his friend a searching look.

For a split second something flashed in Antauri's eyes before they returned to their normal blank, impassive state. Chiro could only describe the brief look as something akin to 'motherly'. He shook his head slowly and sighed. Out of all the monkeys, Antauri was the hardest to read. It was difficult to know what he was thinking or feeling at times but over the long stretch of time they had spent together, Chiro had learnt to trust the black monkey's judgement with his life. Antauri was undoubtly strange, yes, but he never did anything without a good reason.

"No", Chiro's mentor spoke finally, leaning back into his meditating position again and setting his claws back into metallic hands again but not before a final flick, that caused the emergency lighting to fill the room with a comforting glow. He observed the surprised boy with a calm look.

"I want you to meditate with me."

Chiro gaped.

"Relax…find your centre…do as I do…it's not like you've never done this before…"

"Yeah, but usually it's in the daytime and it has a purpose like accessing the power primate or something," grumbled Chiro, folding his arms and pouting sulkily.

Antauri opened one eye sternly, knowing that the boy's temper was already being affected by tiredness.

"Believe me Chiro, this has a purpose."

"What is it?"

The monkey smiled at him in a kindly manner before proceeding to give out more instructions in a gravely tone. Realising that he wasn't going to get any answers, Chiro decided to humour him and assumed the same position as the one in front of him.

"Don't expect me to start floating in the air or anything like that!" he muttered darkly.

Antauri's slight laugh was all that answered him. It wasn't long before Chiro found himself drifting away, his body rocking backwards and forwards ever so slightly under Antauri's soothing voice. His light-headed mind struggled for a little while before he became lost in his teacher's breathing instructions, his eyelids sealing shut and his whole body becoming encased in slumber. He slumped backwards, the disciplined state he had forced himself into, giving way to gravity as he fell through the air towards the floor.

A small but powerful arm struck out, with no warning, as it sliced through air and curved it's way round Chiro's shoulder blades, effectively halting his descent. The owner of the supportive arm, stared down at the sleeping boy, a softened look in his eyes before bristling and swiftly spinning his head around to glare into a shadowed corner, untouched by the light.

A mavolent gaze belonging to a pair of scarlet Skeleton King-shaped eyes bore into his own menacingly. They broke the monkey's look, swivelling to rest on Chiro who immediately began to twist and turn under that disturbing glare and groaned inaudibly. Antauri's eyes narrowed as his arm tightened protectively around the restless boy.

"Leave him be Skeleton King!" he hissed, "you **_will_** grant him at least one night's peace!"

The eyes tore into his own mercilessly asking the silent question of 'what is there to stop me?'

"Me", whispered Antauri in a softened tone laced with overwhelming danger.

What made the villain decide to leave Chiro alone that night was uncertain; perhaps he had better (or worse) things to do with his time. Or maybe, just maybe, it was the aura of rage surrounding the spiritual monkey, that was pulsating so furiously that it was enough to burn out the king's hatred in his weakened condition. Either way, those evil eyes disappeared from view and along with it, Chiro's struggling.

Antauri sighed, setting the now peaceful boy down on the floor gently and retracting his arm back to his side. He knew the reason Chiro cried out and wriggled in his bed each night. He could feel the stench of the Skeleton King inhabiting Chiro's dreams from within his own chamber and it sickened him to his very core. And he sensed the nightmares getting worse, night by night, he could almost taste the teenager's fear each time he crawled under the warm sheets that held nothing but terror for him. Yes, he knew why Chiro was frightened.

But there nothing he could do.

Humans had to sleep. It was part of the natural order of things and Antauri did not hold the power to manipulate dreams otherwise he would, gladly, no matter how unnatural it was. And it was difficult at first, for all of them. Not the dreams, but Chiro himself. The whole monkey team had spent their existence defending humans and then they had to suddenly accept one as their leader and a child at that. It was frustratingly difficult to put aside all their heroic urges whenever they saw him fighting at their side and not try to 'mollycoddle' him, sweeping in to do all the battling for him. But they had adjusted over time, and now it felt natural to have him fighting beside them, striking out against a new threat. Yet, they could never quite forget that he was not yet fully grown, still flesh and blood, a mere mortal. If his head was torn off, it could not just be screwed on like theirs could. No, in some ways he was more frail than any of them.

However Antauri could make sure that Chiro had at least one scare free night. He couldn't be there every night, it took a lot of strength to chase off Skeleton King's presence, but he could at least make sure that tonight, Chiro had a pleasant sleep just like any normal teenager would. Even if it was only for tonight.

It couldn't go on like this forever. But for tonight, merely watching over Chiro, ready to battle away his demons and protect him from all harm…that was victory enough for Antauri.

After all, sometimes the smallest rewards are the greatest ones.


End file.
